


Please forgive me

by miinamiwa



Series: Incomplete bunny plots [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angry Severus Snape, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Severus Snape, Implied Mpreg, James Potter regrets everything, M/M, Mpreg, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Unrequited Love, incomplete work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:42:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27140596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miinamiwa/pseuds/miinamiwa
Summary: During the summer before their seventh year at Hogwarts, James receives his soul mark. When one of his closest friends reveals who his soulmate is, he starts to regret all his past actions and vows to make everything right for his destined one.****DISCLAIMER:This work is in progress. I'm not abandoning it nor giving it up for adoption.
Relationships: James Potter/Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy/Severus Snape, Regulus Black/Remus Lupin, Sirius Black/Lily Evans Potter
Series: Incomplete bunny plots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959433
Comments: 23
Kudos: 206





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER:  
> This work is in progress. I'm not abandoning it nor giving it up for adoption.
> 
> I honestrly don't know when I'll be updating this work, but I know it won't be soon. Sorry.
> 
> In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this first chapter and let me know what you think of the plot.
> 
> Bye!

The first time James Potter laid eyes on Severus Snape, without yet knowing the name of that shabby, tiny boy, he felt something spark within him. He had no idea what it was, but the moment those dark eyes ignored him after those thin lips said the words "I want to be in Slytherin.", James decided it was dislike. How could someone not want to be in Gryffindor? How could someone say that they wanted to go where all the evil wizards go out of their own free will? He didn't know. His eleven-year-old brain couldn't comprehend it, and thus, he made it his mission to save his new pretty red-haired friend from that slimy, evil snake. Besides, he wasn't even worth her time. Those shabby, second hand robes made him look like a beggar, and he couldn't have that kind of people near beautiful Miss Evans.

After the sorting, he made it a point to sit besides his new pretty friend and tried to talk her out of being friends with that Snake boy. Even the nickname fit the git. But Ms. Evans decided that Snake was her friend regardless, and that no one would ever break them apart. Well, it fell on James's hands to keep her safe, then. After all, he knew better. James, along with his other newly made friends, decided to make Slimy Snake see why he was wrong!

And that's how the story of bullying and retaliation between James Potter & Co. and one Severus Snape began and kept growing strong for the better part of six years, along with that feeling that had never truly abandoned James. Now it was a raging fire inside of him, and he was sure that it was pure, unadulterated hate.

Things had calmed down somewhat in the last week of classes, until one fateful day at the end of their fifth year, when it was the last OWL exam of the year…

"Look what we got here!" said James cheerfully. "A slimy little snake!" his gang of friends laughed, and they noticed how the few slytherins that were near Snape fled. Cowards, the lot of them.

Severus, unfortunately, noticed too, but tried to ignore Potter and his gang of hitmen as best as he could.

"Oi! Snivellus! Don't ignore James when he's talking to you!" Yelled an enraged Sirius Black, immediately pulling his wand from his back pocket and pointing it towards the smaller boy.

"Leave me alone, Black. I'm not doing anything to you!" spat Severus in an annoyed voice.

All of a sudden, Severus felt himself being dragged from his ankle and levitated upside down, unfortunately letting everything he had in his bag fall down to the ground and out of it.

"Maybe we should teach him a lesson, so that he learns to not talk back to his superiors." said James in a mocking voice.

Sirius and Peter agreed immediately, while Remus only stepped away and looked towards the lake. Peter took out his wand too and started to charm Severus's possessions to float to the black lake and dropped them, while Sirius tied the boy's hands with his own cloak and started to unbuckle his belt.

"Who wants to see Snivelly's dirty, smelly underwear?" asked Sirius in a loud voice, while everyone cheered for him to do it.

James felt something in his chest stir. He knew it was excitement at collaborating with his nemesis's public punishment, but something in the back of his conscience nagged him when Sirius pulled Snape's baggy trousers down… or up… and showed the threadbare, almost translucent, black underwear barely hanging from surprisingly curvy, thin hips.

Everyone started laughing and James snapped out of his stupor. Remus came close to him and told him that the beautiful Ms. Evans was coming this way.

Sirius and James ended their spells at the same time, letting Snape fall painfully to the ground in a humiliated heap of nakedness and anger.

By the time Lily came to aid Severus, the boy was crying from all the anger bottled inside and snapped at his best friend.

"I don't need your help!" yelled Severus, effectively stopping Lily from touching him and wiping the amused smile from her lips.

"Sev, I only want to help you." said the redhead in a strained tone.

"Well I don't need you." he spat. "You promised that you'd be my friend forever and all you do nowadays is laugh with that stupid boyfriend of yours every time he hexes me or humiliates me in public, just like now. If that's the kind of friend you are, then I don't want you around me anymore."

Lily stood up and threw the few things she could salvage to the ground again.

"Well, then so be it, Snape. Good luck with your 'better' kind of friends" said the redhead and stormed inside the castle.

James felt very proud of himself. Finally, he had saved Ms. Evans from that evil snake. He was the hero and Snape the monster. And just to spite him, James threw a stinging hex towards Severus's face, making him fall backwards. That would teach that bag of dirt to respect Ms. Evans. Everything was well now.

Until it wasn't.

After the incident, that something that appeared in his conscience at the black lake came back and kept nagging him through his summer vacations. Specially on August 27th, when he turned 17 years old.

He took special care to not see his left forearm, where he knew the mark of his soulmate had appeared at midnight.

James took a shower and dressed himself, then went to the living room of his parents' home to wait for his friends. His mother had asked him what his mark was, but he wanted to make the grand reveal when all the people he cared about were present.

Once everyone had arrived, including the adorable Ms. Evans, and the cake and presents had been passed along, he decided it was time to reveal his soulmate mark.

James lifted his sleeve up to his elbow and asked Kaya, his house elf, to remove the glamour he had ordered her to put on his arm as soon as midnight struck.

The charm was gone soon enough and there, on his forearm, was the perfect outlining of a silvery-white doe.

Everyone looked in awe at James's mark, except Lily, who had to rub her eyes and look again before letting a surprised gasp escape her lips.

"Lily? What's wrong?" asked James a bit worried. He had hoped that Lily would be his soulmate at some point, but he soon realized that he wasn't exactly into redheads… or girls at all…

Everyone turned to look at the girl with mixed expressions on their faces.

"Well?" prompted James. 

"It's just that… well, I may be wrong, you know… but… I only know one person who is capable of producing a corporeal doe patronus." said the girl in a shy tone, already feeling apologetic for maybe ruining James's birthday party.

The boy looked at her expectantly and with hope in his eyes. She gulped.

"And? Who is it? Please Lily! I've been waiting for this day my whole life! If you know who is my soulmate please tell me!" said the boy excitedly.

Mr. And Mrs. Potter looked at her with concern in their eyes when the girl's expression turned kind of sad.

"It's Severus Snape…" she said, leaving everyone shocked. You could literally hear a pin drop in the uncomfortable silence.

"And who may this Mr. Snape be?" asked Euphemia, trying to understand why her son looked so devastated and pained and nauseous at the same time.

"You gotta be kidding, Lils." whispered James while ignoring his mother's question, but somehow, he knew that Lily was saying the truth. The nagging in his conscience told him it was true.

The girl only looked at him and shook her head no.

"We spent all third year learning all about the spell and the whole of fourth year practicing until we could produce one for more than a minute. Eventually, Severus figured out that you needed a memory that made you feel raw happiness in order to conjure the corporeal form. He made it before I could." she said in the still silent room.

James's friends looked at each other and then at the boy, silently conveying their condolences and their support. Meanwhile, Euphemia and Fleamont looked at their son with confused faces. The boy noticed and gave a long, suffering sigh.

"Mom, dad, I need to explain to you some things… but later, okay?" both adults nodded and decided to continue with the party.

£££

When everyone left, James had to take a moment alone to order his thoughts. Severus fucking Snape was his soulmate… who would have thought…

After taking a deep breath, he went down to the living room where his parents were already waiting for him. He looked at them and felt disappointed in himself. Those two people had taught him that soulmates were the most precious thing in the world and he had gotten off on humiliating his… His nausea came back with a vengeance…

"James? What's wrong, sweetheart?" asked Euphemia, worried for her son. 

James took another deep breath and started to tell his parents what exactly was going on. He started from the moment he met Severus in the train on his first year, told them about every fight he had picked, every unwarranted hex sent Severus's way, and every prank he had designed with no other purpose than to humiliate a poor, malnourished and misunderstood boy from a different House for no reason.

His mother broke in tears when he told them about the incident with Moony, and his father fumed with rage when he mentioned the incident by the lake.

James felt so awful and so nauseated by his own words that he didn't have the courage to look at his parents in the eyes. His mother made him promise that he would apologize to Severus and make up for six years of bullying, besides, they wanted to meet the boy at the train station when it was time to go back to Hogwarts. They wanted to talk to his parents and secure a betrothal; Fleamont was specially invested in a betrothal contract. The names James had described as this kid Snape's friends were all names of Death Eaters and he didn't want a misled child to fall in their clutches.

It pained him to accept that his own son had driven young Mr. Snape down that path, but he would make sure that James pulled him back on track…

The summer holidays ended soon enough. September 1st had arrived and James waited patiently between his parents. Both Euphemia and Fleamont were nervous because they wanted to meet their son's soulmate. After the revelation, James hadn't spoken much about the other boy, but Euphemia hadn't been a Ravenclaw just for nothing. Yesterday she had silently cast Legillimens on her son and could peek at a memory for a brief time. What she saw alarmed her and she shared her findings with her husband.

Severus was smaller than James, barely reaching the other teen's chest. He was so thin and his face so gaunt... It was obvious that the boy was malnourished and poor, given the state of the clothes he had been wearing when her son lifted him in the air and divested him in front of everyone...

A soft touch to her arm and James's voice brought her back from her musings. Severus Snape had entered the platform with only his old, battered trunk for company. The boy looked so small even from a short distance. Euphemia looked around for someone who at least resembled the boy, but no one even approached him to help him lift his heavy trunk into the luggage compartment. Then, she let out a gasp. The boy lifted his head and she could clearly see a huge purple bruise in the left side of his face. It was obvious that the boy was trying to hide it, since his hair had been almost covering his whole face.

Euphemia was about to go over there and gather the too-small-for-his-age boy into her arms when Lily Evas appeared out of nowhere. The girl was crying.

"Severus's mum died two days ago... She was buried yesterday. Severus's father locked him in their house and beat him until Severus lost consciousness... We only found out after my father said that we should bring him here... He was all drenched in blood, crouching in a corner while his father was passed out drunk in their living room... the bastard." said the redhead in a furious whisper.

James felt something wild surge in him... All of a sudden, the messy-haired boy stalked towards his soulmate just when Severus was finishing to put his trunk in place and grabbed him roughly by the arm, making him almost trip when the boy was forced to turn around. Euphemia noticed that the boy barely reached the middle of her son's chest.

"What do you want, Potter?!" spat Severus. Euphemia could clearly see the disgust and hatred the boy felt for her son, and it was obvious that James could see it too, if the stricken look on James's face was anything to go by. Also, the curtain of dark hair had fallen behind the boy's ears and the bruise was visible; it covered part of the left side of his face and neck, his left eye socket was still swollen and his eye was bloody.

Euphemia gasped in horror.

James was speechless. He could feel what he could only be described as rage burning in his being, but something was new in it... This absolute rage, this desire to hurt was not directed at Sn... Severus, but at the monster that hurt him in this way.

"Cat got your tongue, Potter?" said Severus, trying to tug his too thin arm from James's grasp. The hazel-eyed boy felt a horrible feeling in his gut at the thought of letting him go.

Severus tugged harder when he felt Potter's grasp get tighter. The other boy was starting to hurt him and Severus felt panic surge in him when the other boy turned around, trying to drag him along. When James started to walk, Severus pulled harder, succeeding in freeing his arm but falling flat on his injured hip in the process.

Severus hissed in pain when a loud crack was heard.

Euphemia, Fleamont and Lilly ran to where James and Severus were. Sirius, Remus and Peter had arrived some time ago and were approaching the scene too.

By the time Euphemia and Fleamont reached their son, a few Slytherin seventh year students had approached them and were blocking Severus from James's path. 

"This is between Snape and I, Rossier. Now kindly get lost." said James in a dangerous tone of voice. The blond boy, Rosier, only sneered at him while helping Severus to stand up. 

The blond boy grimaced when he looked at the state Severus's face was in.

"Why don't you drag your fellow bully friend away, dear brother." suggested young Regulus Black to Sirius. "I didn't think you were so cowardly as to try to hurt someone even more. Can't you see?" spat Regulus at his brother.

Sirius noticed the state in which Snape was and grimaced: all bruised and apparently with a broken hip bone, if the way he was standing almost all draped around Rosier and the pain on his face was anything to go by.

Euphemia and Fleamont looked at each other. These boys, including Sirius's brother, were all involved in all that Death Eater bullshit, and apparently Severus trusted them more than anything... Where had things gone wrong?

James, on his part, felt like his very life was slipping through his fingers. Somehow, he knew that if he allowed Severus to walk away now, he would never get him back and that thought hurt him more than anything. He knew that the only one to blame here was himself. Desperation started to eat him alive.

People started to gather around them and James felt someone put a hand on his shoulder, trying to make him back down. When he turned around, he could see his parents and Lily looking at Severus with something like guilt in their eyes, but he couldn't let Severus go. Not now. 

When he turned back to where Severus was, the shorter boy had already been dragged away by Rosier and Mulciber. Only Regulus, Avery and other two students were there, standing in line and forming a barrier so that he couldn't get to Severus. He could notice that Avery had his wand in his hand, subtly pointing it towards him. His father noticed too and squished his shoulder. James had no other option but to turn around and go.

"That poor boy needs medical help now..." said Euphemia in a choked voice. She knew that muggles were violent, but she never imagined that someone could treat a child with such malice...

James hadn't followed Severus into the train, He was still trying to calm himself and his friends and parents were listening with attention to what Lily was saying about Severus's home life. 

"We can't let that man continue hurting the boy." said Fleamont with conviction. "We can file for custody until he turns seventeen. I'm sure that the Wizengamot won't let a child in abusive hands..."

James couldn't hear anything else. He was looking through the window of the compartiment that Severus had occupied and could see that a bruise was already forming in Severus's arm. It had the shape of his hand. James felt nauseous. 

Rosier and Mulciber had gone away, but Regulus Black was still in the compartiment with Severus, helping him sit and then to apply some kind of salve onto his arm. James couldn't take his eyes away from Severus. He felt his rage flare anew when Regulus started to treat Severus's face. It was obvious that the boy's touch was soft and careful on Severus's face and, now that he noticed, Regulus's eyes held so much affection for the boy in front of him. Jealousy burned within him like a demon wanting to get out.

Then, Lily said something that caught his attention.

"Severus turns seventeen on January ninth. Once he told me that as soon as he was of age, he would leave his home." said the redhead. James had at least four months to make Severus be at least civil towards him if he wanted any chance at winning him over before the other boy knew who his soulmate was...

James kissed his mother's cheek and shook hands with his father. The boy had already made up his mind. He would get Severus Snape to be his before January.

£££ 

James and his friends had boarded the train, and now it was about to depart. He could see his mother and father waving goodbye at him, still showing worry on their faces. James felt worried too. Since he was forced to let go of Severus's arm, a sense of foreboding filled him. He could still remember the hatred and fear that shone in Severus's eyes when he touched the boy... 

"James, are you alright?" asked Remus, lightly touching his arm. He only nodded.

"And... what's the plan?" asked Sirius.

"What do you mean?" countered Lily.

"Well, it's obvious that we won't let Snape get down the path of darkness towards those Death Eaters. James won't allow it, I'm sure..." said Sirius. "Besides, now I have an excuse to get close to my brother and drag him back to me; even if it's kicking and screaming."

Lily and Remus smiled at him. Then, Peter entered the compartment. The chubby boy was flushed to his ears and he looked embarrassed.

James looked at him and frowned.

"What's wrong, Wormtail?" asked the hazel-eyed boy.

"Erm... " stuttered Peter. He really didn't want to talk about it, but James had turned the attention of all their friends towards him. "I saw Sirius's brother kissing Snape on the lips..." he mumbled.

The compartment fell silent. There was more noise in a tomb than in that compartment at the moment.

Sirius's eyes widened and everyone could hear someone growl. James stood up from his seat, fists balled and ready to punch someone. The hazel-eyed boy marched towards the entrance to his compartment but Remus stopped him on time.

"James you're only going to make things worse." said the green-eyed boy. "I know you are angry, but now it's not the time. Besides, even if there was something between Regulus and Severus, it won't last. Severus turns seventeen in January, you still have time to apologize and make amends with him. Now it's time to plan, not attack." Remus was worried for his friend. He could see the rage burning in those hazel eyes and he understood the sentiment. 

James, for his part, felt like every second apart from Severus made even bigger the physical distance between them. James was desperate. He knew that in a matter of seconds he could lose the boy forever. James nodded and retook his seat.

"How do you know?" asked James in a hushed voice. Remus raised his eyebrows in question. "How do you know that they are not going to last?" finished James.

Remus inhaled profoundly, looked at Sirius and let his lungs deflate. He too took his seat back.

"Because Regulus is my soulmate." said the werewolf, looking out of the window. Everyone just looked at him stunned. Then, all of a sudden, Sirius whooped and hugged him. Remus was speechless.

"Goddamit Moony, since when do you know this piece of good news?" asked Sirius joyfully. "By the way, Congratulations! Now it will be easier to sway Reg to come back to the Light!" Then, in a subdued but still happy tone, Sirius continued. "Since we were little, Reg has always dreamed of finding his soulmate... Hell mate! I think he's always been in love with you, he just doesn't know it's you he's in love with... If that makes sense..."

"Wait!" said Lily. "How is it that you know about Regulus being your soulmate if you haven't even turned seventeen? You don't have his mark yet." frowned the redhead.

The four boys turned to look at each other and Lily raised an eyebrow as if expecting an explanation. Remus sighed again. James locked and silenced the door of their compartment.

"That's because I'm... I'm a werewolf, Lily... We have soulmates, and we can recognize them from scent alone. We don't need a mark, although we have it... But we can know who is our soulmate even before the mark appears..." Said Remus.

Lily was speechless and her eyes were wide open. Then, a memory hit her with the force of a muggle truck. Severus had been saying the truth... Her ex best friend had been saying the truth about one of his bullies and she dared to call him a liar and left him at their mercy in that tree, where later James and company hung him upside-down... Lily exhaled the air she didn't know she had been holding.

"So he was saying the truth..." mumbled the redhead. Remus only nodded. 

After the incident, she had confronted them about what they had done to Severus and even told them about what the boy had told her before, they just let her believe that Severus was a liar... Lily facepalmed herself.

"You are the most dumbarsed people I have ever had the misfortune to meet..." said the redhead while facepalming herself. "Anyway. If we are going to bring back Sev and Regulus, we must start to plan. We can't let the Dark Lord take them away from us." 

£££ 

When the train arrived to Hogsmeade, the Marauders and Lily were eager to put their plan into action. They left the train and mingled along their fellow students while looking for Severus and Regulus. It was easy to spot them, since Remus could smell Regulus's scent from miles away. The Black heir was helping Severus walk to one of the carriages, which proved to be a bit difficult since Severus could barely walk thanks to his broken hip. Regulus was still underage and thus couldn't perform magic until they arrived to the castle to help his friend; besides, Regulus was about the same weight, if a bit taller, than Severus, and he could not carry the other boy. 

James noted that neither Rosier nor Avery were anywhere near them. Both seventh years were boarding one of the carriages and didn't pay attention to Severus like they did back in King's Cross. He turned to look at Remus and the other boy nodded, making sure to clear the path between the Slytherins and his friend. James approached Regulus, along with Sirius, and the hazel-eyed boy managed to cast a stunning spell on Reg, catching Severus when the other boy fell.

Severus fell directly into James's arms, and started to struggle when he noticed who was holding him, but stopped and hissed in pain when his hip hit Potter's leg.

"Shh... It will be okay. I'll take you to Madame Pomfrey as soon as we arrive at the castle." Told James to Severus as soon as he caught him. He was careful to not jostle Severus's injuries while lifting him and carrying him bridal style to one of the carriages. He noted that Severus started to tremble when he touched him. He was also amazed and worried that the boy weighed almost nothing.

"Let go of me Potter or I swear I..." Severus fell silent when he saw that Lily was also in the carriage. He scowled.

After James entered the carriage, Lily made sure to lock it. James took a seat in front of her and made sure to keep Severus sitting in his lap, helping him to keep his hip as comfortable as possible.

The whole trip to Hogwarts was filled with a tense silence that no one dared to break. Severus kept his face scowling and his eyes looking through the window, in order to avoid making eye contact with his captors; meanwhile, he could feel James's eyes staring at him and Lily's brain overthinking her situation. Finally he could see that they were approaching the gates and some carriages had already arrived. He could see Avery, Rosier and Mulciber leaving their carriage and was about to scream for help, but the three boys didn't even look for him nor for Regulus. He knew that he meant nothing for the three purebloods, but he thought that their display in the train station could mean more than just them trying to prove to Potter and Co. who was better.

When they finally arrived at the gates, Lily opened the door. Potter lifted him carefully and when they got out of the carriage, he could see that Remus and Sirius were holding Regulus between them and the Lupin boy was saying something in Reg's ear. Regulus chose that moment to turn and looked him in the eye. Regulus's eyes looked sad and resigned, but at the same time hesitant and hopeful He noted too that Black... Sirius, that is... looked pleased, and Lupin looked positively besotted with the youngest Black brother. When he turned to look back at Regulus, the boy dropped his gaze.

Severus frowned.

Potter kept walking with him in his arms. This was so weird, because his bully kept staring at where his bruise had been. Severus didn't know what to do. Potter tried not to hurt him while walking, that was obvious, but Severus didn't know why. He was sure that, had this happened last term, Potter would be the first to laugh at him and even kick him too just to spite him. Severus felt anger boil even more inside of him, and pushed Potter's chest with his arms. He only managed too hurt his hip even more when Potter carefully rearranged him in his arms. Severus hissed in pain.

"Shh... It's okay, we'll be there soon. Please don't move." said Potter in a worried voice. A frown was marring his forehead.

"And what do you care, huh? You provoked this! I was fine until you decided to bully me at the train station!" hissed Severus in anger. He just wanted to kill the stupid prat right then and there.

"I know it's my fault that you broke your hip, I'm sorry, Severus." said Potter. Severus was speechless. Never in their nightmarish time knowing each other had Potter ever apologized for anything, but it was not enough.Severus, somehow, could feel the regret in Potter's voice when he uttered those words, he could also see his stupid eyes filling with an emotion Severus knew too well, since he saw it almost daily in his own face: self-pity. Severus felt his anger rising.

Soon, they entered the hospital wing and Madame Pomfrey came running out of her office,

"My god Severus! So soon?" asked the mediwitch, not taking a look at who was carrying the boy, though her face froze in shock when she realized that the Potter boy was the one bringing her most frequent patient to her care. She took a long look at Severus and could see that there was a faint yellow bruise on Severus's face, and his eye was bloodshot. The mediwitch's lips thinned in a fine line and Potter flinched subtly at the anger he could perceive radiate from her.

"Mr. Potter, please bring Mr. Snape to this bed." she said, making Potter follow her. They arrived at a private room in the back of the hospital wing, where James was asked to carefully deposit Severus in the bed. "Thanks, Mr. Potter. You may leave." said the witch in a cold tone.

"But... Madame..." tried James, only to let the words die in his lips when the witch turned to look at him in anger. She took him by one of his arms and forcibly made him leave the room.

When the door to Severus's room was closed, James tried again.

"Madame, I swear that I didn't hurt Severus on purpose! When he arrived at the station his face looked swollen and there was already a horrible bruise on the side of his face and his eye was like that. Regulus Black treated him on the train." She raised an eyebrow, forcing him to elaborate. He sighed and lifted the left sleeve of his jacket. Her eyes bulged out when she saw the doe adorning his forearm. "Lily told me that Severus's patronus is a doe. I swear that I didn't hurt him on purpose... I... I got so angry when I saw his face... I went towards him to try to bring him to my mom, so that she could treat his bruise, but he thought that I was going to hurt him... Things got difficult and when he managed to free himself, he fell to the floor and broke his hip in the process..." said the boy.

Madame Pomfrey gasped and dropped his arm, turning to go back to Severus.

"Please, Madame. It's not my intention to hurt him... I... I need him... I know that this sounds weird and you may think me a hypocrite, but I don't want to lose him..." continued James with desperation.

Pomfrey turned to look back at him. The expression of loss and regret was evidently true, disfiguring James's handsome face. Tears were welling in the boy's eyes and she felt pity for him.

"It's not your decision to make, Mr. Potter. I hope you know that." she said, forcing a sad, sympathetic smile on her face.

£££ 

It had been a month into the new term. Severus had been discharged from the hospital wing two weeks ago and James found himself stalking the boy. He was conscious that he was not in love with Severus Snape, but the call of his mark nagged at his consciousness, always reminding him of what he had to do. Besides, the two weeks that he had been following the boy had shown him a side of him that he couldn't even fathom before, making a warm feeling surge in him every time he thought of Snape.

On the first day, after leaving the hospital wing, James went to his dorm room and found Remus, Sirius and Peter already there. His werewolf friend was positively glowing.

"Reg said that he's going to help us with Snape. He said that he just needs time, but he will do it." said Sirius.

"What, exactly, did you tell him?" asked James.

"We told him that Severus is your soulmate, and he may or may not have deduced that he is mine..." said Remus. "I couldn't stop myself from touching him... He said that Severus told him that I am a werewolf. Apparently, he was the only one who believed him..." A rueful smile lit Remus's face.

James nodded and a little smile pulled at the corners of his lips.

After that, time seemed to fly. James hadn't been able to get any closer to Severus, and the only time he managed to corner the boy in a broom closet, in an abandoned corridor of the third floor, he had had to practically drag him there kicking and screaming. Thankfully, there had been no one there to see. He had tried to tell Severus that he was his soulmate, but he hadn't been successful. As soon as he let go of the boy's wrist when they were inside the broom closet, Severus had taken out his wand and hexed him. The next day, in Herbology, James was sitting across from Severus. The boy was ignoring him and he looked wary, since Lily and Sirius were sitting each at his sides. When professor Sprout asked them to stop writing and put on their gloves, one of Severus's elasticless, worn down sleeves fell down to the middle of his forearm, showing a purple bruise in the shape of a massive hand. James's massive hand. Lily gasped at the sight and Severus covered himself immediately, ignoring her. James felt his heart aching.

The next time James managed to be alone with Severus was during the Halloween feast. He had spent the whole evening waiting for the slighter boy to appear but Severus hadn't been present throughout the ball nor the main part of the celebration, but showed up when the party was finally over. James's friends had already gone to bed, only Dumbledore, Slughorn and a few students were left. Filch was starting to clean the mess in the great hall.

Severus was dressed in faded blue pants and a threadbare t-shirt that was too big for him. He was also wearing his school shoes and his cloak to cover himself from the cold. He approached one of the tables near the entrance of the great hall, looking for some food, and he soon found an untouched slice of apple pie and a goblet of milk. He took them and left as soon as he had come.

James wanted to follow him, but apparently no one except for him had noticed Snape's presence at all, so he decided to follow him at a slow pace. 

James had been wearing his invisibility cloak as his costume. Sirius had suggested that he should be a floating head. He only muffled the sound of his steps and voila.

He followed Severus to an abandoned classroom in the dungeons. It was cold and Severus was shivering, trying to wrap his old cloak more snuggly against himself, but it was not enough. James didn't move from his place on the floor a few feet away from the door, his eyes following every move that Snape made. He could clearly see the boy's pink tongue dart out of his mouth to taste the filling of the pie that was stuck to the fork. The action was so innocent yet so erotic that he couldn't take his eyes off of Severus.

Suddenly, the urge to go and kiss the crumbs from those pink, thin lips took a hold of him, but Regulus had told him before that he needed to be careful. Severus had been suspicious as is about their intentions, so he didn't want to risk forfeiting what little chance he could have just because of his stupid teenage soulmate hormones.

When Severus finished eating his pie, he banished the empty dishes to the kitchen and left the classroom. James managed to move his feet on time to save Severus from tripping. That night, James woke up in the middle of the night thinking of thin lips and punk tongues.

By the time they had to go home for the Christmas break, Regulus had told them that Severus was going to remain at the castle, but he was expected to go to Malfoy Manor for the Malfoys' Christmas ball and boxing day. James was agitated. Something was telling him that nothing good could come out of Severus visiting the Malfoys. He was jittery and had had some bouts of accidental magic the whole week because of his nerves. 

One of these bouts, unfortunately, happened while he was walking up and down a corridor in the dungeons, it was Friday evening and Severus was supposed to go to Malfoy's house the next day early in the morning. He had just seen Lucius Malfoy come out of Slughorn's office, followed by a shy Severus. What had made him explode, however, was the look in the boy's eyes. Severus was looking at Malfoy as if the pompous arse was Merlin reincarnated, and his cheeks held a healthy, flirty rosebud color. The worst of all was that Malfoy had already left the corridor, but Severus was still trying to catch up with him without even noticing that James was there -what with his short stature he had to run while Malfoy walked- so Severus was still in the corridor when his magic exploded from his fury and poor Severus was the target. The release was so violent that the walls shook and Severus had been slammed against one, banging his head with a stone and leaving him unconscious and bleeding on the floor, his already battered clothes in rags and what could be seen of his pale skin was covered in bruises and open wounds.

His mark had never reacted, but this time it hurt him as if a million needles were piercing his forearm and the feeling was extending through his arm. In his shock, James approached the still figure of the shorter boy and tried to touch him, but a strong spell cast on him sent him flying to the opposite wall. Malfoy was there, and so was Slughorn. Both approached Severus and when they saw the state of the boy, Malfoy picked him up in bridal style and ran away from them. After a not so heartfelt scolding, the professor accompanied James to the hospital wing.

When they arrived, they could see Malfoy and Dumbledore in front of Snape's bed, both were arguing for the looks of it while Pomfrey waved her wand in frantic but precise patterns above Severus's still form. In his daze, James failed to notice when he had approached Severus's bed until a strong hand gripped him and made him turn around. Malfoy's angry glare sparked his own anger, and soon both of them had their wands pointing at each other.

"Boys, please." said Dumbledore in a strong tone. Slughorn was hiding behind the older man but had his wand at the ready too, casting a barely visible shield around Pomfrey and Severus's bed. "James, please take one of the beds and wait until Madame Pomfrey is finished. You seem to need the medical attention too." 

James yanked his arm from Malfoy's grip and glared at him until he reached one of the beds.

"I see that not even a heavily injured student can make you quit your biased ways! The board of governors should remove you at once!" said Malfoy. He walked around Dumbledore and Slughorn to where he could be closer to Severus. 

James felt his blood boil when a well manicured, strong hand caressed Severus's cheek. He was about to rise from the bed when he suddenly couldn't move. Dumbledore's eyes were trained upon him.

Malfoy waved his wand and everything fell silent; James could only see their lips moving and, for the severe expression on Dumbledore's face and the triumphant one on Malfoy's, it was bad.

After Malfoy left, Dumbledore cancelled his spell and turned to check on Severus, while waiting for Madame Pomfrey to give him a check-up and a painkiller. When the mediwitch was done, she dismissed him, but Dumbledore was still waiting for him and signaled him to follow. James had no other choice. When they arrived at the headmaster's office, the door shut behind him with a loud smack.

Dumbledore took his seat behind his desk and James took the one on the other side, waiting for the old man to speak. It looked like Dumbledore was expecting the same, for the expression in his face suddenly turned murderous after his eyes lost their twinkle.

"I have been very patient with you and your friends, Mr. Potter, but I'm afraid that this time you went too far. How dare you hurt another student the way you did!?" every word coming from Dumbledore's mouth held an anger and weariness that the old man had never shown before.

All of a sudden, James felt a furious headache grip him. He knew that Dumbledore was trying to see the events from his perspective, so he let him. This was not the first time the old man tried to pry into his mind, after all.

In his mind, James played the memory of his birthday during the summer, when Lily told him that the only person she knew whose patronus was a doe was Snape; he let the old man see and feel his emotions during the memory of them ar King's Cross, how he had felt helpless and angry beyond measure at seeing Severus all bruised and malnourished. James let him see when Regulus told them that Severus was expected at Malfoy Manor for Christmas, and the desperation in the atmosphere at knowing that no one could do anything to avoid it. Dumbledore felt the rage James felt only moments before, when Malfoy had come out of Slughorn's office, with a smug smirk on his srtupid face and Severus following him as if he was a lost puppy and Malfoy his personal God. He let Dumbledore feel his jealousy and his hatred for the blond take a hold of him, he let him feel his magic swirling around him and blinding him with the intention to hurt Malfoy for daring to lure Severus where James knew the other boy would never come back from, and then he felt nothing.

Both men were panting heavily when Dumbledore was expelled from his mind. James's nose was bleeding and Dumbledore looked gravely at him. After composing himself, the old man started talking.

"I'm afraid that Mr. Malfoy wants you to be punished exemplary for what you did to Severus, even though now I know that it wasn't your intention to hurt him this time. Otherwise, as the son of one of the governors of this school, and a former student who has witnessed harassment towards Slytherins, he will push the governors to take action, and I'm afraid that if Mr. Snape is willing to offer proof of your past... rivalry, you may even be expelled, and not even I will be able to help you." said the old man in a tired, no nonsense voice. James only nodded. "He wants Mr. Snape to be safe from you and your friends, even from Miss Evans, for the remainder of the school year. You are forbidden from getting near Mr. Snape in a minimum of 20 feet of distance. You are forbidden to talk to him, or even say his name at all. You are forbidden to look at him, or raise your wand against him until the day of Graduation." Dumbledore raised his wand and the golden ball of light that had been forming at the tip travelled all the way to James, until it landed in his chest and sank in his heart.

James felt like his heart stopped for a whole minute, he felt his lungs contract and hurt and he could feel the pain travel all the way to his left forearm and settle in his soulmate mark, making the silvery-white doe glow gold and then the pain concentrated there. James took his wrist in his other hand, trying in vain to mitigate the pain. when the spell sank into his skin, turning the mark a dull red-gold color, he was sweating.

"You can't do dis to me." he said in a breathy, exhausted tone. "You can't!" he yelled. Dumbledore looked somber at him.

"I'm sorry, James, but I'm afraid that I can't risk you hurting Mr. Snape again. You have until graduation to think of how you are going to tell him about you two being soulmates. for now, he is safe. Madame Pomfrey will have him in her care for the remainder of the Christmas holidays, and I'll make sure that he doesn't leave the castle for that type of things, but I can't let you go anywhere near him." said the headmaster, looking at James as if pleading with him to understand.

James looked at him for a few seconds, then, it clicked.

"He knows about my mark, doesn't he?" James asked. Dumbledore nodded. "Does he know who is my soulmate?" Dumbledore shook his head in a negative motion, but somehow this didn't relieve James.

"He thinks that your soulmate is Miss Evans." said the headmaster, but James knew there was more to it.

"What are you not telling me, Headmaster?" he asked. Dumbledore looked pensive for a moment, then he answered.

"Apparently, purebloods like Mr. Malfoy don't think that learning mind-magic is important. His thoughts aren't that hard to read if one knows what they're looking for. I could see in his mind that Mr. Snape was caught by young Lucius practicing his patronus charm along Miss Evans a few years ago,but he could only see the doe. When Mr. Malfoy confronted Mr. Snape, he told the young heir that the doe was Miss Evans's patronus." Dumbledore paused and rubbed his temples. "He threatened to not only expell you and your friends if you ever dared to even look in Mr. Snape's direction. He implied that Miss Evans would receive the burn of your actions if you continued to harass his... friend." James understood immediately what was going on.

Malfoy had managed to turn an accident into a hostage situation. He felt like his head was about to explode. James stood from his seat and started to pace while he rubbed his forehead with one hand. Then, he stopped and grabbed the back of his chair with both hands.

"And what am I supposed to do? just... step aside and allow Malfoy to take Severus into the snake pit and let him be marked as a Death Eater? I can't do that... I won't do that." said James, determined.

"I must remind you, Mr. Potter, that it is not your choice. Even if he is your soulmate, Mr. Snape is still his own person and has his free will. You can't force him to not go down a path he has most likely already chosen, just like you cannot force him to accept your soulmate bond." said Dumbledore with a strength that he wasn't feeling at the moment.

"Don't you think I know?" asked James furiously, resuming his pace. "Don't you think I know that my actions towards him made him turn to those horrible people? I remember when we were in first year... he used to sit with Lily at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. I didn't think he was good enough to share our table... he looked like a beggar amongst lords with his ratty second hand robes... I used to put all kinds of things in his food and his drinks to make him go away, I used to hex him under the table, trip him when he stood up to leave, always trying to make him feel unwelcome... until one day he stopped coming, and Lily didn't dare to go sit with him at his table because the Slytherins weren't welcoming to a muggleborn." little by little James lost his anger and only sadness was left. "He did for her what she didn't dare do for him... and then I made her leave him on his own..."

Dumbledore's eyes held pity for the young man in front of him.

"Please, headmaster... don't let him become one of those monsters." pleaded James. Dumbledore closed his eyes in resignation. He knew that he had failed his students... All of them, by not interfering when he was needed, so he nodded slowly.

"I'll do what I can." said the headmaster, who looked as old as he was.

£££

James told his friends about what had happened that day in Dumbledore's office, and although all he wanted was to be near Severus, his friends were a great help in keeping him away from the other boy. They couldn't risk Malfoy targeting Lily for their own stupidity, although Lily had been insistent that she fixed things with Severus so that they could still have at least a link to the boy.

This endeavor, though, was unsuccessful, since Severus was always surrounded by Mulciber, Avery and Rossier. Those three boys had all of a sudden shown a special interest in Snape, barely letting him go alone to the bathroom. Not even Regulus could come close to him anymore, since word had gotten out that the youngest Black brother was Remus Lupin's mate in the first week of classes following the Christmas holidays, and now Regulus was a pariah in his own House. They considered him a traitor because of Remus's half-blood status and because he was a Gryffindor and Regulus didn't want to give him up. Everyone suspected that he hadn't been disinherited because he was the only Black heir left.

That week, however, opened the gates of hell for one James Potter. First, he discovered that the spell Dumbledore cast on him was a compulsion; every time he even thought of sneaking into the hospital wing to visit Severus, he would forget why he was thinking on going to the hospital wing, until his mark started to burn and he would remember, making his want even greater. Lily guessed that the magic of the soulmate bond was overriding any spell Dumbledore had cast against it, that's why he needed to be accompanied by someone at all times since they didn't want a repeat of what happened during Christmas. Then, when Severus was released, he hid in the Slytherin common room for the remainder of the break. 

The first day of classes coincidentally happened to be Severus's 17th birthday, and the boy looked all kinds of miserable, according to James. During breakfast, when all the owls delivered the mail and packages, Severus kept glancing longingly at his 'friends' opening letters from loved ones, and packages with new and shiny items, but not Severus.

"His mother used to send him a letter and a box of homemade cookies on his birthday. She saved all the year any money she could spare to buy the ingredients to bake his present. She died in the summer, remember?" said Lily in a whisper. James nodded in understanding. Then, when breakfast was almost over, a regal owl came flying into the great hall carrying two small packages, both of which were dropped in front of Severus. The boy's face was graced with a faint smile and his eyes widened a little when he removed the cards from the boxes. If James had to guess, he would bet that both gifts were from that stupid, pompous arse Malfoy.

"Regulus told me that one package was from Malfoy and the other was from You-Know-Who. Malfoy sent him a robe for graduation, while His present was a book of dark magic." said Remus somberly during dinner. Severus was the only person who occasionally spoke to Regulus. Occasionally being when no one else was watching. Regulus had tried to persuade Severus to make peace with Lily and come to live with him when summer came, tried to convince him that the Dark Lord was not a choice, but Severus had denied him, threatening to end their friendship if he didn't desist with his nonsense. "Reg also says that Severus let him see his mark. It's a stag; but he says that Snape will conceal it, since he doesn't want anyone to know about it nor does he want to know who his soulmate is. Reg says that Snape is not interested in 'that bulshit'. " said Remus, making air quotes with his fingers on each side of his head.

James felt a pang in his chest. To be honest, it had never crossed his mind the thought that Severus wouldn't want to know who his soulmate was. He couldn't sleep that night thinking about ways that he could make Severus change his mind, on how he could win Severus over and accept their bond, but nothing came to mind, and it frightened him.

During Hogsmeade weekends, Remus and Regulus promised to keep an eye on Severus, since James couldn't do it himself. Even Dumbledore thought that it was a good idea and asked the teachers to be on guard on behalf of the students; he had made it clear that the students should remain oblivious, but that there was Death Eater recruiting activities in the town and thus they shouldn't let their guard down.

James had noticed that, while Severus was understanding of Regulus's relationship with Remus, he was not so accepting of Remus himself. According to his werewolf friend, Severus mostly kept to himself when they were with him the few past Hogsmeade visits, allowing for Regulus and Remus to keep the conversation going and only participating when he was addressed directly by either of them and mostly givind one word answers when Remus was the one asking him something.

This Hogsmeade weekend, however, things got nasty. James had seen how Severus dragged Regulus a few feet away when Remus went into the candy shop. They started to talk in whispers and rushed words and Regulus looked paler by the minute; then, an explosion could be heard in the main road and Regulus paled even further. Severus pushed Regulus into the candy shop and second later they were dragging Remus out with them. Severus told them something, Remus nodded, took Regulus's hand and dragged him through the street in Hogwarts's direction. Severus stopped abruptly when he saw James staring at him, casted a spell in his direction and ran off to the main street. James managed to dodge the spell in time, but stumbled when he tried to follow Severus. He knew that the compulsions were acting against the magic of his bond because his mark started to feel as if it was on fire, but he didn't care, he kept running until he found himself stumbling onto a pile of rubble. He could see teachers and students trying to repeal the Death Eater attack. 

A few minutes later, Aurors apparated right before the barricade the teachers had managed to implement in order to fend off the attack. James saw that a few Death Eaters ran from the battle, and one of them was Lucius Malfoy. The man had his cape and mask on, but a lock of white-blond hair fell into his masked face; suddenly, a spell hit Malfoy's hair, making it shift back into the man's hood covering his head. James tracked the direction of where the spell came and he saw Severus hidden behind one of the houses, sending a jinx to make one of the Aurors that were after Malfoy trip and fall, facilitating the bond man's escape.

James felt his blood run cold. He was aware that people at the castle accused Severus and the rest of the Slytherins of being Death Eaters... for fuck's sake, James himself was the one who started that rumor about Snape when they were in first year, but never in his life had James imagined that it would become true... not even when Severus was still on friendly terms with Lily Evans. It physically pained him that Severus was allying with the wrong side.

All of a sudden, the battle ended. Dumbledore had come down and stopped everything. Some Aurors had managed to capture a few Death Eaters, but, unfortunately, Malfoy wasn't amongst them. When he came out of his hiding place, he could see Severus curiously eyeing the captured, quietly releasing a sigh of relief when he didn't see Malfoy there. Rage and Jealousy coursed through James like hot lava.

After the teachers gathered and checked the students who couldn't make it back to the castle on time, the headmaster approached them with two aurors in tow. James recognized Alastor Moody, his father's friend, but the other he had no idea who the man was. Professor Dumbledore asked them to retell the events so that the Aurors knew what had happened. When it was Severus's time to speak, he told the Aurors a different story to what James had seen.

"One of them saw me and started to cast spells against me, so I ran and hid behind one of the houses. I lost him, so I waited there for someone to come help me. Then I saw one of the Death Eaters run and one of the Aurors run behind them, I thought that I had a clear shot but I miscalculated. I wanted to trip the Death Eater but missed, and jinxed the Auror by mistake." said Snape. James noticed that his hands were trembling, and the headmaster and Aurors noticed too. Dumbledore frowned, but the Aurors bought his tale.

"Okay, lad. Could you see the Death Eater's physical appearance?" asked Moody. Severus shook his head in a negative motion.

"Sorry, sir. I couldn't see. They all had hooded cloaks and masks on their faces." Moody nodded again and let Severus go; then he turned towards James. Severus caught his gaze for a brief moment and then left.

James didn't know why he did it, but he lied to the Aurors without flinching. He even kept Malfoy's name out of it. When he was safely back at school, he told his friends what had happened. Regulus had managed to drag Remus away before the battle started, and together found Sirius and Lily, reluctantly coming back to the castle when McGonagall ordered them to.

"I honestly don't know how Severus could lie to Dumbledore in the face like that. He was obviously helping Malfoy escape." said Remus. They had gone to the room of requirements, along with Regulus and Lily, after James came back.

Lily and Regulus looked at each other as if they knew something the rest of them didn't.

"What." asked James in a demanding tone.

"In our first year, when all of you started to target Severus with your pranks, the rest of the Slytherins started to do the same. They didn't care about Severus at all because he was the only half-blood in the whole house. They treated him horribly, worse than you... because he is a half-blood, because he is better than any of them... Unfortunately, Malfoy noticed what the teachers and I knew all along: that Severus is a force to be reckoned with in his own right, and half-blood or not, he was smarter and more intelligent academically than the rest. That's when the Slytherins stopped harassing him. Malfoy took him under his wing, he even 'allowed Severus to keep me' as long as he kept bringing Slytherin to the top..." Lily stopped for a moment, as if remembering, then continued. "Everyone in Slytherin knew that Malfoy was the king, and anyone who dared go against his wishes paid a high price, so, Severus was out of limits. Malfoy made Severus untouchable inside his house... Malfoy made him a demi-god amongst mortals. Then, came all that bullshit about blood purity in third year. It wasn't difficult to convince him, really. The whole school hated him and laughed at his expense, what with you always making him the target of your cruellest pranks; with me always trying to be the center of attention... trying to not lose my popularity that I gained in the first place because of him... I wasn't a good friend." Lily shrugged, but her face betrayed regret. "Only the Slytherins respect him if only for his brains and because he can cause more harm with his wand than a nesting Horntail."

Regulus nodded at everything that Lily had said.

"Once, I remember, that you ran a rumor about Severus being gay. A pair of seventh year muggleborn Gryffindors hunted him down and took him by surprise in one of the greenhouses. They took his wand away and hit him until he was unconscious. I followed them but was too cowardly to do anything. I was in second year at the time, so I went to get the nurse and told Malfoy what had happened. He made sure that those idiots were expelled. That's when Severus's crush towards Malfoy started." said Regulus. James paled at that. "Don't worry. He doesn't feel that way anymore, and even if he did, he knows that Malfoy's soulmate is my cousin Narcisa, so..." Sirius elbowed Reg in the chest. "What?" asked the boy, a bit clueless.

James had always suspected about Severus's feelings towards Malfoy; that was why he had started the rumor about Severus's sexual orientation, but hearing that it was true felt like someone had drenched him in cold water.

"I think that maybe that's the reason why he doesn't believe in soulmates..." said Remus. James frowned, not understanding his point, so Remus clarified. "Severus was in third year when Malfoy played Mesiah, making Severus fall in love with him, although unintentionally I'd like to think. Malfoy was a sixth year back then, so I guess that it was such a disappointment when Malfoy's mark appeared and he was not his soulmate."

James got angrier by the second and Sirius noticed, so he cleared his throat out loud and tried to redirect the topic.

"Well yes, but that doesn't mean that Snape would help a murderer escape just for nothing." he said.

"Not for nothing. We know that he was expected to go to Malfoy Manor for Christmas; I overheard Mulciber saying that maybe the Dark Lord would be there. Severus was honestly excited to be able to go... he even bought new dress robes with his own money." Regulus shrugged again. "I don't think he was that excited just because of Malfoy" said the youngest Black.

"But Severus is not so stupid as to follow that man blindly." said Lily.

"Well, think about it... He promises power, immortality, status... Severus comes from the dirt of society, is bullied and underestimated by his classmates, is overlooked by teachers that are supposed to take care of him, and has been ignored, rejected and made feel like he is unworthy of the air he breathes his whole life. Then, comes a dark Prince Charming who promises to alleviate all his pains and soothe his frustrations, to smother his fears... who offers him the world in exchange for just his loyalty, and who admires his innate talent with Potions... It's not stupidity, Evans, it's ambition... It's survival." said Regulus with anger. He considered Severus his best friend... possibly the only one he had ever had, that's why it angered him to some degree that these people were 'trying to bring Severus back to the light'. It angered him because, to some degree, he understood Severus's motivations. He didn't know when he stood up, but suddenly he felt a warm hand pull his arm and Remus softly pulled him down onto his lap. Regulus exhaled a defeated sigh when everyone looked down in shame. "I know I promised that I would help you get Severus away from those people, but I don't think I can now. In the common room Severus is barely alone. Last night I tried to talk to him and Mulciber hexed me... He said that it was just a warning... that he 'didn't want to see blood traitors around Snape'. They obviously know what he is worth now, and the Dark Lord won't let him go that easily"

Remus growled at the words of his boyfriend. On January 29th Remus celebrated his 17th birthday, and his soulmate mark appeared; it was a great surprise for everyone because it was a wolf, then, that same day, Regulus showed them his wolf patronus while Sirius was serving slices of cake. Remus cried like he had never cried before. It was also the first time they kissed, making their relationship official.

James mulled Regulus's words over, trying to think of a way to make Severus turn to the light, but in the end, he knew that his best friend's brother was right. He contributed to make Severus turn to the wrong people, go down a path that James couldn't follow. He felt desperate and hopeless, and the realization of what was to come and his inability to stop it struck him with the force of a thousand lightning bolts. 

For the first time in forever, James Potter broke down in tears of despair.

£££

They were in the middle of March and James hadn't been able to catch a glimpse of Severus's mark. He had noticed that every time someone mentioned soulmate marks, Severus got uncomfortable. Regulus had assured him that Severus had no idea who his soulmate was, and that he had no intention to find out. Meanwhile, James worked on plans about how to tell Severus that they were soulmates and convince him that he had other options... That going to the Dark Lord was a mistake, but always came up blank.

April 9th came and with it Lily's birthday. Her soulmate mark appeared on her left wrist. It was a warm spring morning, so she decided to wear a short sleeved dress, showing her forearm to whoever wanted to see. It was a Saturday, so Remus and James were already there. Not soon did she take her seat next to Remus, Sirius appeared whistling a rhythmless tune.

The Marauder took a seat on Lily's right side and started to pile a plate with food when suddenly the redhead moved and her left forearm was visible to him. Sirius gasped in shock and nearly dropped his plate.

"Mate, what's wrong?" asked James, but Sirius had his eyes glued to Lily's forearm, making her feel uncomfortable. 

When Lily was about to cover her arm, Sirius grabbed it and exposed the mark to his friends, but turned to look at her with panicked eyes.

"W-when did it appear?" asked the grey-eyed boy. LIly tried to free her arm from his grip, but James and Remus caught it again.

"Today is my birthday..." said Lily in a shy voice.

Her three friends turned to look at each other, not sure if they should say anything, but Remus decided to speak when he saw that Sirius was about to bolt from the room, pointing his wand underneath the table towards his friend and spelling his ass to the bench.

"Oi! Let me go!" said Sirius, to no avail.

"As if." said James with mirth dancing in his eyes. "You better eat, mate. We're going to have a long day."

Lily frowned at his words but started to eat nonetheless after James released her arm.

When everyone finished, James led them to the Room of Requirements, where Remus immediately glued Sirius to a chair.

"Something to say, Pads?" asked James. Sirius only looked at him with pleading eyes. "No? Ok."

"What is this all about?" asked Lily, a bit confused.

"Evans, I remember that you said that Severus and you practiced your patronus together, but you never told us what yours was... Can you show us, please?" said James. 

Lily frowned but complied. She took her wand out from one of the pockets of her dress and cast the spell. A silvery mist filled the room, but soon it took the shape of a huge dog. Sirius's eyes widened.

"At first I thought that it was a wolf, but Severus said that a wolf was bigger, and my patronus is clearly too big to be a dog, so I don't really know what it is." said the redhead. "Maybe it's a coyote?" she asked.

Remus and James turned to look at Sirius with expectant faces; the animagus had no other choice but to comply with his friends' demands. He sighed in resignation and trepidation.

"Okay... Can you please give my wand back, Moony?" asked Sirius. Remus bowed in mock respect and gave him his wand.

"It's not a wolf, but it's not a dog exactly either." said Black, then, he cast his own patronus and a bigger, muscular version of Lily's patronus shot out of his wand. Lily's eyes widened in shock. "It's a Grim dog." said Sirius in a quiet voice, not daring to look at Lily for fear of her reaction.

Both animals circled and sniffed each other until they nuzzled and licked their snouts in an affectionate way. Sirius was all the time looking at Lily's expression, but the redhead was stuck in shock.

After a few minutes, the patronuses disappeared, but Lily's expression didn't and the guys worried.

"Lily?" asked Remus, a bit uncomfortable.

"Sorry..." she said after a few seconds. "It's just... I... wasn't expecting that to happen..." 

Sirius wasn't in love with her, but her words hurt him anyway. He looked back at his hands and played with his wand until a warm, slender hand touched his arm. Sirius could feel that warmth spread throughout his being and when he turned to look at Lily, the smile on her face lifted his mood.

"Well... now that this is settled..." said Remus, "Guys I think we have more pressing matters to discuss." The werewolf had taken a piece of parchment out of nowhere and was reading it with a worried expression on his face.

"What's it, Moony?" asked James.

"Regulus wrote that Severus wasn't in his dorm when he went to look for him. They were supposed to study potions together right now..." Remus frowned.

"But I thought that the Slytherins forbade my brother to go anywhere near Snape..." said Sirius, Remus nodded.

"That's right, but Severus told him not to worry, that they couldn't be seen together publicly but it didn't mean that they stopped being friends. Severus agreed to tutor Reg in potions just because he asked him." answered Remus.

They went back to the great hall and when Regulus joined them, he had a bruise in his left cheek, which Sirius and Remus noticed right away. Remus quickly reached his boyfriend and touched his cheek delicately with a trembling hand, betraying his anger at seeing his mate hurt.

"Who did this?" asked Remus in a very demanding tone. His voice sounded deeper than Regulus had ever heard it and it made a shiver run down his spine.

"Rosier." said the boy without hesitation. He knew that lying to Remus would make it all worse. "He caught me going out of Severus's room." Remus frowned, so Regulus continued with his explanation. "We were supposed to meet in the common room at seven, when everyone was still asleep, but I waited for an hour and he never came, so I decided to go to his room... He wasn't there either. I looked for a note or something... I heard a noise in the hall and tried to leave but Rosier caught me."

"But I thought you weren't allowed near Snape anymore..." said Sirius.

"Nope, but Sev doesn't give a shit, so he himself offered to tutor me and I couldn't reject him, now, could I?" Answered Regulus.

"But where did he go?" asked James, suddenly filled with a sense of dread.

"I don't know. Avery and Mulciber weren't there either. They pretty much casted me away from slytherin so I'm lucky they let me sleep in my dorm. They are very careful with what they say when I'm around." said Reg, while Remus touched his cheek with his wand and cured the bruise.

Just then, Snape came into the great hall with Avery and Rosier, followed closely behind by Mulciber and walked straight to the Slytherin table, not paying attention to the pair of hazel eyes following him.

James felt a weight lift from his shoulders when Severus appeared. He noted the look the slytherin exchanged with the other two boys and he didn't like it at all.

Breakfast was a tense affair for the marauders, mainly because James didn't stop looking at Snape as if he was going to disappear again, which, of course, the slytherin noted and scowled and even flipped the middle finger to the marauder. Rosier, who was sitting almost in front of Severus, noted James's behaviour and moved to hide Severus's slight frame with his much muscular one.

Sometime during the day, James managed to snatch the map from Sirius, and spent his free period hidden in the prefects' bathroom tracking Severus's movements. He had thought that he could corner the dark haired boy and talk to him, but either Avery or Rosier were always with him, only leaving him alone when they were in their common room.

Anyways, he knew that his mark would burn whenever he approached the smaller boy thanks to Dumbledore's spell.

They were entering June, and James hadn't had a chance to get close to Severus. His desperation was growing stronger and he felt like drowning, since Lily's attempts to rekindle her friendship with Severus were going nowhere. At some point, Regulus had abandoned the dungeons, since everyone was outright hostile towards him and the last time he had been there, he had been attacked with a nasty curse that sent him to the hospital wing for two weeks. He only ever visited the common room when he needed information from the books stored there.

Surprisingly, Severus had done nothing about it, but Regulus had said that it was because he couldn't, not because he hadn't wanted to. All the seventh years had been there, observing Severus's reaction; and everyone seemed to approve when he did nothing.

Nowadays, all James could do was stare at Severus from across the hall, waiting for the last day of classes, in which the spell was supposed to expire.

£££

Every day was torture. They were now two days away from Graduation and they hadn't been able to reach out to Severus. Remus had tried, but stopped when Regulus was once again attacked. Lily had also tried, including Sirius, but none had been able to approach the Slytherin, because they always ended either in detention or in the hospital wing thanks to Avery, Rossier and other Slytherin seventh years, who were acting as Severus's bodyguards. James suspected that it was a favor from Malfoy, since Severus saved his stupid blonde ass from being taken to Azkaban.

Finally, Graduation day had come. All the students from sixth year down had already gone home, with exceptions, while the Seventh years had to stay at the castle while their parents arrived for the ceremony the next day. James woke up to a searing pain in his left wrist. The spell Dumbledore had put on him was burning out of his magical core through his soulmate mark; it was a painful process, it hurt him so much that Sirius and Remus woke up when they heard him scream and in a second they were next to him, trying to help but not knowing how.

A few painful minutes later, James was left panting as if he had run a marathon, all drenched in sweat and cradling his arm while Remus applied a healing salve on his soulmark, that had blisters around it.

"We need to be in the Great Hall in two hours, our parents will arrive soon..." said Remus. James nodded.

"I need to find Severus first. I need to tell him..." James panted. Sirius and Remus looked at each other, not knowing how to help their friend with that.

"Ok, we'll find him, but first you need to get dressed and we have to go to breakfast." Said Sirius. "You are all drenched in sweat, go take a shower."

James nodded and stood up. He felt weak, as if at any moment he would fall. His wrist was now throbbing with the aftershock of the pain, the blisters had gone and his mark was a little bit red from irritation. Remus must have gotten his salve from Regulus, who must have gotten it from Severus. A small smile appeared in his lips, his resolve to get his soulmate filling his heart and giving him strength.

Half an hour later, the three friends were walking towards the Great Hall when they were intercepted by a worried Regulus. He had stayed behind to be there for Remus and Sirius when they received their diplomas, also because he knew that if he went home he wouldn't see Remus ever again.

"Malfoy is in the common room with Severus..." Said the youngest Black heir. "They were talking about Severus going to live to Malfoy Manor until he could afford his own place... now that he doesn't have anywhere to go..." Regulus bit his lip, not wanting to continue with what he was going to say.

"Reg... what's wrong? You can tell us..." said Remus, caressing his boyfriend's arm in an attempt to soothe him. Regulus took a deep breath and continued.

"Malfoy also said that... if everything went as expected, that Severus could meet HIM during the holidays and be offered a position in their ranks, regardless if Severus was a potions Master or not. Malfoy also offered to pay for Severus's apprenticeship wherever he wanted... He called it an investment." Then Regulus showed a letter and gave it to Sirius. "Mother sent it this morning. She says that I have to go back home, otherwise I will be disowned and marked as a blood-traitor. She said that Bella would be very disappointed in me if I don't go back."

Everyone understood the threat. It was well known that the oldest of the Black sisters, Bellatrix, had joined the Dark Lord and was now a renowned Death Eater, she was, along with her husband and brother in law, the cruellest of them all. Rumor had it that she was His second in command.

Remus hugged his boyfriend to his chest, reassuring him that in Hogwarts he was safe.

"It's not me the one I'm worried about. You leave today..." Said Regulus. "Mother will probably send her to hunt you guys down if I refuse." Everyone heard Regulus's words.

"You will not go back to that horrible woman, Regulus, you hear me! I don't care if she sends Bellabitch after us, I won't let her harm you no matter what. We can talk to Dumbledore and ask him to take you away from the Slytherin dorms permanently... I wouldn't put it past them to try to hurt you there..." said Sirius, reaching out to hug his little brother too.

"Yeah... Also, you could come live with me and my family this summer, there's plenty of space and mum won't mind... She kind of always wanted more kids so..." offered James timidly. After that year, his relationship with Regulus was still a bit strained, because they didn't know each other, but he was willing to help his best friend's little brother if need be.

"Yep. Besides, it will only be this summer. Uncle Alphard inherited all his possessions to me when he died, so I plan to buy a flat... We could live there after you graduate." Said Sirius, tightening his hug on his brother. Remus took Regulus's hand in his.

"Also, you know that you can count on me. You can always write to us. We won't leave you alone, Reg. We'll be here if you need us." Said the werewolf. Regulus nodded and squeezed his boyfriend's hand in return.

"What are we gonna do about Severus?" asked the boy a few moments later.

"I have a plan..." said James with a determined look in his face.

£££

Said plan didn't work. James had wanted his friends to distract Severus's bodyguards and send Malfoy on his way, while he shoved Severus into an alcove and told him all about his mark and declare his willingness to make things better between them, but Severus somehow seemed to read James's intentions on his face, because the first thing he did after the four-eyed menace came close to him was send a jelly-legs jinx his way and run after Mlafoy.

James ran after him as soon as he retrieved his wand (that had gone flying somewhere when he fell on his arse) and reversed the spell, but he couldn't reach him, since Severus had gotten to the Great Hall that was now packed with teachers and parents, along with the rest of the seventh years. His parents stopped him as soon as they saw him, engulfing him in a hug. His mother immediately asked to be introduced to Severus, but her face dropped her cheerfulness when she swept her gaze through the hall and saw the raven-haired boy with Lucius Malfoy. James followed her gaze and sighed.

"Jamie... why is Severus with Malfoy?" asked his mother in a worried tone.

"He doesn't know. I haven't had the chance to tell him." he replied. His mother raised an eyebrow at him, unbelieving of the fact that he had a year to tell the boy what was going on. "It's a long story..." said James dejectedly.

Soon after, they were joined by Sirius, who hugged the Potters in welcome. A few minutes later, the Lupins plus Regulus joined.

Sirius introduced his brother to the Potters and, while Euphemia was bussy fawning over Regulus and Remus, he slipped his mother's letter to Fleamont, who put it in his coat pocket, concealing it from prying eyes. His wife caught on the movements and, with just one look from him, she understood, hugging Regulus to her side and quietly asking him to spend the summer with them.

Regulus shyly nodded after a quick glance towards Remus, who nodded his head encouragingly.

James, meanwhile, kept his eyes trained on Severus, who was momentarily left alone when Malfoy was called by the Rossiers. Then he saw Lily and her parents approach him. Severus looked tense while he spoke with the redhead, but didn't seem to have anything against her parents. They talked for a bit and then Lily's mother hugged Severus, who was in shock and doubted for a moment whether to hugh her back or not, since Malfoy was watching him like a hawk, but then Severus gave up and hid his face in the woman's neck and hugged her back.

James seized his opportunity. He called his parents and moved towards the muggle family, Sirius following close behind while the Lupins and Regulus chatted amicably with Frank Longbottom and his mother.

Once they were near the Evans family, Sirius approached Lily and asked her to speak to her parents, giving Euphemia, Fleamont and James the opportunity to talk to Severus alone.

"Good day, young man. May we have a word with you, please?" said Fleamont. Euphemia's heart broke a little at seeing the boy's discomfort and distrust shining in his posture.

"Why?" Severus replied, breaking eye contact and directing his gaze towards Malfoy, who was still talking to Rossier's father, thus, not paying attention to him.

"My son has something to tell you..." Euphemia replied, smiling warmly to the boy.

James cleared his throat and raised his left arm, bunching up his sleeve to show him the now pinkish silver doe on his wrist. Severus's eyes widened for a moment before recovering his composure.

"And what is that?" he asked in a dry tone, trying to mask his rising anger and anxiety.

"You are my soulmate, Severus... please, show me your mark..." pleaded James in an almost whisper, feeling his heart in his throat at Severus's reaction. Fleamont also saw the boy's reaction and discreetly casted a privacy charm and a notice me not charm around them.

"I don't have a mark, and even if I had one, I'm sure it wouldn't be yours. Sir, Madame, have a good day." Replied Severus, inclining his head in farewell and starting to walk to where he last saw Malfoy, but James's hand on his left wrist stopped him.

"Let go of me this instant, Potter." said Severus, his voice conveying the anger he was starting to lose control of. Fleamont and Euphemia were surprised at the way Severus spat James's last name like a curse, but they couldn't say that they didn't expect it, after all, this boy had more than a few reasons to... not love... their son.

"Severus please... I know that your mark is a stag... Regulus told me..." James's desperation was starting to take a hold of him. "Please..." he repeated, pushing Severus's sleeve with his other hand. Severus tried to stop him, but his fragile hand couldn't do anything about it. Then, there it was... His silver stag on display for all the Potters to see.

A few tense seconds later, everyone recovered from their shock. James tried to run his fingers on the mark, but as soon as his fingertips touched Severus's skin, the other boy yanked his arm away, as if he'd been burnt.

"Sev..." tried James.

"Do not call me that, Potter. This damned mark means nothing, you hear me? You have no right to touch me, no right to talk to me or to even say my name." Said Severus in anger.

"Mr. Snape, please..." Intervened Euphemia when she couldn't stand her son's suffering anymore. "I know that your relationship with my son has been less than ideal, but I swear that if you give him a chance, he will do all he can to make things better... We would be glad to accept you as one of our own." she said in a placating manner, hoping with all her heart that young Severus would accept her son.

"With all due respect, Mrs. Potter, you have no idea how less than 'ideal' my relationship with your son has been. He hates me and I hate him, there's nothing more to it. I don't want to spend the rest of my life with someone who treated me like scum without taking the time to get to know me first. He judged me as soon as he laid eyes on me, he chased me away from the only friend I ever had and has made my life more miserable than it already was for the past seven years, and if that is not enough, two years ago he and his friends tried to kill me; so no, I don't want to 'give your son a chance'. All I want is for him to never cross paths with me again." said Severus with all the calm he could muster. Euphemia looked like she'd been slapped, she didn't know what else she could say to keep this young man from rejecting her son. Then, Fleamont spoke.

"We know what you went through, lad. James showed us all that he and his friends did to you. I know that we could never understand what you went through, but I think everyone deserves a second chance..." Severus glanced quickly towards Malfoy once more, Fleamont noticed, but continued with what he wanted to say. "We are not asking you to marry our son right away, just that you give him a chance to get to know each other better. I know that letting go all of the bad things from one day to another is impossible, but hate is not something someone so young should feel." Fleamont put one of his hands on Severus's shoulder and squeezed affectionately. "We are offering you a family, Severus... We are offering you love and the chance to become your best self... We want to take care of you, Severus." said the man.

James extended his hand for Severus to take after he noticed a small crack in Severus's mask, where he could see a sliver of doubt appear in his eyes; but as soon as it appeared, it was gone.

"I'm sorry, but I have already made my choice." replied the boy, looking at Fleamont in the eyes. "Like I said before, this mark on my wrist means nothing to me, and even if it did, I'm absolutely sure that the Fates wouldn't be so cruel to me as to pair me with my tormentor." Severus trained his eyes on James's extended hand and looked at it with disgust. "So, thanks for your... kind... offer, Mr. Potter, but I think you should go find your son's soul mate somewhere else. Have a good day and enjoy the ceremony." said Severus, nodding once again in farewell towards Euphemia and walking away from them, towards where Malfoy was standing waiting for him. 

As soon as Severus had left, James felt his heart ache. The tears he had been holding were shed as soon as his parents embraced him. His mark started to throb with a dull pain and he felt hollow. 

A few minutes before the ceremony started, James had managed to calm down and his mother fixed his face with a quick glamour; Sirius came to them followed by Lily and her family, then they were joined bu the Lupins and the Longbottoms, taking their seats together while their children went to accommodate somewhere behind the great doors of the Hall until McGonagall called their names for the last time. 

Fleamont and Euphemia made sure to sit Regulus between them, noticing that a lot of the purebloods were giving angry and disdainful looks to the boy. 

Lily's mother, who was sitting next to Euphemia, started to cry when her daughter's name was called. 

"It has been seven years and I still can't believe that my little ordinary girl has become into an extraordinary woman." said Mrs. Evans to no one in particular, carefully dabbing her eyes to not ruin her makeup. 

"All of them grew up so fast." answered Euphemia, taking the chance to get to know the muggle woman and obtain some information about Severus. 

"Yes... Even Severus is not anymore the shy, scared little boy he used to be... I'm sorry that his friendship with my Lily didn't work, but I know that she had a good impact on him. He may be sarcastic and a bit rough at the edges, but deep down he's a sweet boy... He just needs a little love." 

"He seems to be very smart too. By the way, Mrs. Evans, where are his parents? I don't think I saw him approach them?" asked Euphemia, pretending she didn't know what happened at the beginning of the year. 

"Oh, please call me Dianne. His mother sadly passed away at the end of the summer last year... She was a witch, according to Lily. We haven't heard word of his father ever since. My husband offered Severus to come home with us until he could afford to find his own place, but he said that a friend had offered to take him in and he accepted. He promised he would write to us, though." said Dianne. 

"I'm so sorry... I bet his mother would have loved to be here... See her child grow into an adult wizard." replied Euphemia. Dianne only nodded. 

It was James's turn to receive his diploma. Euphemia could see that her son was barely holding himself together, so she didn't even try to call his attention to her. As soon as he left the atrium, he was engulfed by Sirius in a big hug. She noticed her son's shoulders sag a little. He had started to silently cry. 

When Severus's name was called, he walked towards the atrium. Euphemia watched him take his diploma from Dumbledore's hands; he turned to the crowd and his eyes automatically landed on Lucius Malfoy, then his gaze instinctively swept the crowd until he found Dianne Evans, and gave her a sad little smile. The woman's tears started anew.

£££

After the ceremony, there was a little reception for the families and their graduates. Lily saw Severus and Malfoy walk towards the entrance, about to leave, so she ran towards him and held his hand, halting his walk. 

"May I talk to you for a moment?" asked Lily. Malfoy turned and looked at her as if she was dirt on his pristine shoes, then looked at Severus and walked out of the Great Hall to give them some privacy. 

"I already said goodbye to your parents." said Severus awkwardly. Lily nodded. 

"I know. Mum is a bit sad that you won't be coming home with us." she replied. 

"I promised I would write to them. If that's all, Ms. Evans, I would like to take my leave. Have a good day." said Severus. He was about to walk away when Lily took his hand again, stopping him from leaving. 

"I miss you, Severus... I miss my best friend." She said. Tears had started to form in her eyes. Severus casted his down. 

"You shouldn't, after all, you have a bunch of new best friends. So do I, so please, let go." replied Severus, trying to make her let go of his hand.

"You don't have to go with him, you know? My parents could take you in... or the Potters..." added Lily in a subdued tone. That last comment made Severus angry.

"So this is why you came." Said Severus. His eyes showed hurt for a second, but then it hardened. "You are here to help your friend, not because you really miss me." He yanked his hand free as quietly as he could, Lily had no choice but to let him go. "I suggest you mind your own business, Ms. Evans." Severus turned around and left.

Lily watched him go to Malfoy without being able to do anything. When she turned around, she saw that James's eyes were glued to the entrance, a sad expression on his face. She went to him and took his hand, squeezing it in confort. James looked at her and smiled weakly.

"Thanks for trying, Lils." he said.


	2. Chapter 2

THIS IS NOT AN ACTUAL CHAPTER!!! 

JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I FINISHED WHAT WAS LEFT OF THE FIRST CHAPTER SO THAT YOU CAN READ IT!!!

thanks for your attention!! As soon as I have the next chapter ready I'll post it and let you know :)

**Author's Note:**

> I know that the last part seems like I just chopped the chapter, but bear with me... It's all I have written until now. I'm still working in this and other stories to the updates will be as slow as snails... sorry.
> 
> UPDATE: I updated this first chapter, since last time I left it incomplete. Now you can consider the first chapter of this story complete :D
> 
> BTW, thanks to all the people who have read this story, thanks for your comments, they mean a lot! Ant thanks for leaving kudos!!


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